Alice placed her hand and Annabelle's shoulder. "I've gone through nanite injection. It will hurt, yes, but you will make it through, and you'll be stronger because of it. You can do this!"
Annabelle stared into Alice's eyes, then slowly nodded. "Do it."
"Beginning injection process," Idi announced. "It will take several hours, during which the subject will be restrained. I will inform the subject when the process is complete."
As Idi spoke, white robotic straps extended from the examination chair where Annabelle sat. Then, they cinched tightly around her wrists, ankles, neck, and forehead, immobilizing her completely.
Alice watched as a shiny robotic arm extended from the ceiling of the medical bay. A long and thick needle protruded from the end of the arm. Alice thought back to her injections, and memories of excruciating pain filled her mind as Idi positioned the needle quickly and precisely behind Annabelle's head.
Annabelle looked at Alice with trembling lips, but courageous eyes. "Are you sure I'll be okay?"
Alice didn't get a chance to answer. Without warning, Idi's robotic arm drove the needle into the back of Annabelle's head, through her skull, and into her brain with a loud, squishy thump.
As the nanites began flowing into Annabelle's brain, she let out a horrified scream that echoed through the medical bay and lasted for at least ten seconds. Her scream didn't fade completely, though. It only quieted and turned into a keening moan. Throughout the process, Annabelle's eyes remained open and her lips stretched across her teeth.
With feelings of deep empathy, Alice watched as another mechanical arm extended from the wall of the medical bay, this time grasping a small plastic rod. The arm placed the rod between Annabelle's horror-widened jaws. She quickly bit down on it, and her keening moans changed into occasional, animal-like grunts.
"Idi, tranquilize Annabelle when the treatment is complete," Alice ordered. "I need to continue the mission and retrieve Leo... I mean, our target. Don't let her leave when the treatment is complete."
"Yes, Alice," Idi responded. "You will be happy to know that I am perfectly able to complete the task here, and continue to assist you via your remote interface."
"Of course you can, Idi," Alice grunted. Though useful, Idi had begun to make Alice feel very uncomfortable. Hopefully, she'd be able to get the A.I. out of her head once she rescued Leo.
Alice took one last look at Annabelle, who was now violently twitching within her restraints. Then, she turned and exited the medical bay.
Chapter 13
Millions upon millions... Billions upon billions... All of humanity...
She would save them all, though they would never know who to thank for the profound nirvana in which they would soon find themselves.
It was inevitable, yes, but there was still a bit more work to do before her great invention could effectively spread across the Solar system.
She had already reached many people, in many different ways, but unfortunately, those experiments hadn't been perfect. There was still much progress that she needed to make.
Many had already seen the kind of universe that she could build. Many had looked on in awe as their hate, their fear, and their pain left them, leaving only love, beauty, and peace. Only a few more sacrifices would be needed to give that heaven to all of humanity.
There was a price that had to be paid, though, and she would be the one to pay it, for she was the only one who could. No one else had the vision, the courage, and the knowledge to take the final step.
The dawn of the new age would be a first for humanity, but a different kind of first. She would not be the first to travel at near-lightspeed, nor the first to undergo implantation, and not the first to experience trans-species hybridization. None of those breakthroughs, though they all had occurred due to her sacrifices, could compare to the monumental discovery she would soon thrust upon humanity.
There were no words to honestly describe the magnitude of what she was about to do. If she succeeded, there would be no stopping the salvation of humanity and the human condition would be forever altered. The countless villains that inhabited the dark places of the Solar system would soon find that all their evil works, whether done for material gain, or out of a cruel need for power, were meaningless.
She had seen past the veil. She had seen what awaited within the Infinite, and it was beautiful beyond all imagining. To offer such a gift was the most profound act of kindness one human could do for another, and that was what she sought to do for all. Of course, some sought to stop her. For whatever ignorant, misguided reasons, some would rather humanity continue on the drudging path of death and decay they had pursued in vain for tens of thousands of years, rather than step into the light. They would choose triviality over real purpose, true meaning, and true peace.
The Origin Council was filled with a few of those ignorant people. She had been able to hear them for a long time, but now, their whispers had stopped echoing within her mind. It was a sign that she needed to finish her divine work immediately. Humanity could not survive further delay.
She couldn't hear the Council anymore, though now it didn't matter. She had heard enough to know what they were planning. She knew they were sending an extraordinary young woman to stop her.
She chuckled lightly to herself. The Council and the Ganymede Operative... None of it mattered.
None of it mattered, and that was the true beauty of it all. She held the knowledge that even if she failed, her vison would still be achieved. The foundation had already been layed. Whether in an eon, or an instant, nirvana would come.
The cave that surrounded her was the womb for the new form of being that she would birth, and her own body the seed from which the vines of peace and joy would grow to encompass the entire universe. The soft blue light that radiated from the walls of the cave was the spark that would ignite the dawn of a new age for humanity, and the shimmering pool beside her the lifeblood that would spawn a better form of human.
She grinned with satisfaction as she typed rapidly on the control terminal in front of her.
From the shadows below, steps echoed from the long stone staircase that led to her massive stone altar. She didn't need her eyes to see a young man ascend the stairs, then move toward her before speaking quietly.
"Mother. May I interrupt?"
Exony Margolesh turned to the young man, looked at him kindly, and nodded. "Yes, Joshua. Of course, you may."
Joshua looked up at her, his mother, the one who had given him life. He looked at her as if she was an ancient queen upon her throne, although there were no jewels and no outward signs of wealth or decadence around her. There was only rock and metal, and a tranquil pool of silvery, metallic liquid.
Joshua knew little about the pool. Exony knew that sometimes, ignorance was preferable to knowledge, and in the case of Joshua, that fact was especially relevant. He didn't know how deep the pool was, as the reflective surface denied any inspection of what was hidden within the depths. He didn't know what the pool contained. All he knew was that it was the culmination of her life's work.
"It's ready, my son," Exony stated triumphantly, and Joshua looked back at her in silent awe.
Exony had finely crafted her appearance over the years. Her blue eyes spoke of wisdom and kindness, her bald head showed her disdain towards unfunctional adornments, and her visage told a story of beauty tempered, but not tarnished by her many years of life. Her naked body showed clearly to all that she had nothing to hide, no ulterior motive, and no hidden scheme of shallow personal gain or cruel vengeance upon an enemy. She had spent many years ensuring that she was as pure as the future she sought to bring forth.
"Everything is as you asked. The carriers have prepared themselves. Shall I send them in?" Joshua tentatively inquired.
Exony smiled benevolently. "In a moment, Joshua, but first, we must talk. This will be the last time we can converse as mother and son, and as one to another. Have you fully embraced the future are building together, or do your
earlier reservations stand?"
Joshua looked at his feet, clearly abashed to be looking at his naked mother, and to have to speak of his own weak will and cowardly nature.
"I was just scared. We... I... I never understood the technical aspects of what we're doing. It's just a little difficult for someone like me to understand ... You know I've never been good with this kind of stuff..."
Exony listened to her son's half-hearted justification, then strolled gracefully over to him. She then reached a finger out to his chin and gently nudged his head upward until his fear-filled eyes met her confident and kind gaze.
"You will never feel fear again, my sweet boy," she whispered.
Then, she reached her arms around his shoulders, leaned her naked body into him, and enveloped him in a comforting and loving embrace. As the comfort of his mother's love washed over him, Exony felt his tears drip down onto her shoulder. Then, his shoulders slumped, and the tension of his existence left him as he began sobbing uncontrollably.
"I'm so sorry, mother... I can't help it... It's just so amazing when you think about it. It's so crazy! I hope it works! How great would that be, right? I never thought I would be involved in something like this... I'm just a stupid kid..."
Exony quietly shushed her son and stroked his neck. After a few minutes of comfort and reassurance, he stopped crying, and she broke their embrace. Joshua wiped the tears from his cheeks, looked up at her, and nodded firmly.
Exony was pleased she had been able to assuage her son's fears and bolster his confidence, but she looked forward to a future when such pain and hardship would be utterly forgotten.
"Please, Joshua, bring them in."
Joshua closed his eyes. "Okay. They're coming now."
Then, he turned towards the shimmering pool next to the alter. "How will this work? How does the technology work? You've never described its function in detail..."
Exony grasped her son's hand and led him to the edge of the shimmering, silvery, metallic liquid pool before answering.
"It's quite simple. In fact, it's what you would call an 'elegant' technological solution. It's taken me many years to develop it, as you well know, and I could not have done it without your help."
Joshua scowled down at the pool and furrowed his brow. "Yes, but how does it work exactly? Is it a self-replicating nano-machine? You know technology is not my best subject."
Exony frowned. "You should not be so hard on yourself, Joshua. Sometimes I feel your intelligence will eventually outpace mine..."
Joshua nodded, but he still didn't look convinced.
Exony looked at her son as he gazed confusedly into the pool. He was young and ignorant. Did he deserve the enduring bliss that she was about to give him?
That question was the most significant dilemma she had contended with over her years of preparation for the final task. Did humanity deserve what she was about to give it? Could the ignorant masses deserve such a magnificent gift? In all their cruelty, and all their evil, could there be enough good to justify the future that she was building?
She had already answered that question a million times, however. It didn't matter. For all of the flaws of humanity, none of them mattered. Charity without justification was as noble a human act as she could conceive of, and she could see no wrong in giving a gift for no reason other than to bless another, even if they were pathetically undeserving.
Joshua ran his fingers through his long blonde hair. "I hope we're doing the right thing, mother. I really, truly do..."
Exony placed her hand on his shoulder. In spite of his weakness and his stupidity, she loved her son beyond words. Her unconditional love for him had given her the drive to succeed during the challenging times after she had left the Council. Without him, she never would have found the strength to accomplish such monumental feats.
He was innocent and kind. The future was one that Exony had once considered hers alone to build. However, that strand of selfishness had been a weakness in her plan. Humanity was stronger together, and she was stronger with her son. The prior eight years had proven that. Her son had earned a place at her side in their current life, and the next.
In awe of the inexplicable and reckless kindness she was about to show, emotion overcame Exony. It was her turn to cry, but this time out of joy and amazement, rather than doubt and fear.
Joshua turned to her with concern in his eyes. "Mother, why are you crying? It's gonna work out. Forget I said anything. I believe in you. I believe in this!"
Exony gazed back at him and smiled as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. Would he choose to take hold of her divine gift if he knew the actual cost?
Exony shivered with anticipation. It was time.
"My beloved son, your fear ends today. Step into the light," she whispered.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
Without warning, Exony forcefully shoved her son in his chest, and he fell into the silvery pool with an oozing splash. He yelped in surprise as the liquid spread over him and looked up at her in horror as he flapped his arms about and struggled to stay afloat.
"What?! Why?!" he screamed.
But then, he sunk deeper into the liquid. As it covered his mouth, his screams turned into gurgles of lazily oozing air bubbles. Sheer horror filled his eyes as the liquid covered them. Then, his head and his desperately flailing arms sunk beneath the surface, and he disappeared into the glorious depths.
Exony looked down on the shimmering pool and smiled. "How I envy you, my sweet boy..."
A feeling of deep satisfaction came over her. Her creation was far from perfect, but even if it failed, she would learn much from the experiment she was conducting.
With a satisfied smile on her face, Exony dove headfirst into the pool.
Chapter 14
Idi instructed Alice as she rode service elevator 42-N down to the maintenance levels.
"You will exit on level three, travel north through to the last known position of the tracking beacons. Then, I will scan and discover what disabled them. I will then determine the likely location where our target is being held, and you will storm that location and recover our target."
"Yes, Idi." Alice tentatively agreed. Idi was calling the shots, and she was beginning to feel like she was just along for the ride.
The elevator gave a slight rumble as it reached level three, then the sliding double doors opened, and Alice quickly exited.
A primary maintenance corridor opened up before her. The ceiling was low, and the dim yellow lights gave it a creepy and claustrophobic feel.
As Idi displayed the station's official maintenance blueprints in Alice's mind, she got her bearings. Then, she began to hurry down the corridor. Many smaller, numbered passages branched off from the primary corridor. Each of them led to where some mechanism or another that ran Osiris was housed.
As Alice urgently walked forward, she occasionally encountered an individual or a small team of Osiris maintenance staff.
"Ignore them..." Idi commanded, and she obeyed.
Fortunately, all paid her no mind. They all walked with the hurried pace of those who had quotas to meet, and vengeful superiors to satisfy.
After a few minutes, Alice passed a young woman holding a large scanner. The woman looked at her and gave her a glowing smile, just as Idi spoke in her mind,
"I am currently running tactical simulations. I have also activated your threat detection implants. I have set them at the highest sensitivity possible."
"Yes, Idi," Alice responded.
Alice felt a pang of concern. Idi had become more in charge of the mission than she was, and she was obeying the A.I. without question. She did trust Idi, but she couldn't help but feel a bit disquieted by the change.
Suddenly, a torrid stream of alerts lit up her vision and sang loudly through the nerves in her body. Taken by surprise at the sudden mental onslaught, Alice lost control of her legs and fell roughly to the dirty floor.
"What the hell?" Alice groaned With some difficulty,
she signaled in her mind for Idi to clear the readings from her threat detection implants.
"Was there a problem with the readings, Alice?" Idi asked with what Alice thought was a bit of sarcasm.
As the onslaught of data left Alice's vision, she stood up and brushed herself off. She had nearly had enough of Idi and needed to regain control of the mission.
"That was way too much. Let's try thirty percent sensitivity now, and amend your simulations. Run them as a standard beta-class hostage rescue scenario. We have no idea how many people we'll be up against, but probably between four and thirty. Look for any locations near us where a fusion interference reactor could be housed. That could be what disabled our tracking beacons."
Alice smiled to herself. It felt good to be giving orders once again. Her self-confidence bloomed as she continued.
"Run higher numbers just in case. Also, look at likely places for me to run into an ambush or a trap, and tell me the most likely technology our simulated adversaries will possess. Also, prepare defensive protocols for Allinium acid, bladed weapons, gas-grenades, and analog security mechanisms."
Alice stood still as she gave the specific command to Idi and was taken by surprise when a threat detection alert sounded off in her mind just as she finished.
Alice spun around with a blur of speed, then unleashed a stabbing strike at the elbow of whoever was trying to grab her from behind.
"Not today!" Alice screamed as she spun.
After she unleashed the blow, Alice was embarrassed and surprised to see that she had targeted the female maintenance worker she had just passed.
With a scream of pain, the young woman fell back and clutched her arm, a look of surprise and fear on her face.
"What the hell, bitch? I was just seeing if you were okay after you passed out. Relax!"
"I'm sorry..." Alice quickly blurted out. Then, she stepped towards the woman to help her. Instead of accepting the help, the woman recoiled as if Alice was about to strike her again.
"Damnit, are you okay?" Alice asked lamely.
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